GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR MIXED CONSTRUCTION FLEETManage all of your vehicles and machinery through a single portal

INTRODUCTIONThe construction industry is starting to feel the pinch as confidence in the economy falters. With market watchers increasingly concerned about the steep decline in commodity prices, lower trading levels more broadly and a worsening employment market, business is cautious about spending money on major new projects. This has sharpened the focus on operational efficiency.

This cost-sensitive approach has been a reality for the past few years in the US and major European markets since the global financial crisis tore through economies towards the end of the last decade. Its impact can be seen in annual telematics spending, which is expected to reach $US40 billion next year according to online statistics portal Statista. This is three times higher than global telematics spending in 2011 as businesses look to drive unnecessary costs out of fleet management.

Unfortunately for anybody operating a mixed fleet of vehicles and machinery, which most construction contractors do, this usually means juggling multiple logins to different software packages. In reality, many construction companies end up not using any of them because they only offer a fragmented view and it’s just too complicated to generate meaningful business insight. Yet the potential impact on asset utilization, maintenance and productivity cannot be ignored.

ASSET UTILISATIONAny vehicles or machines parked up on a job are costing your business money because they’re not being productive. Fleet management technology allows you to set key performance indicators for active utilization. So, for example, you could set a target that says every machine on a job does a minimum of 7.4 hours per day. When you log into the software at the start of a working day you can instantly see every vehicle and machine that has met this KPI.

You might also say that any vehicle or machine that hasn’t worked for a defined number of minimum hours in a week is available for relocation to another job site. Every site manager that logs into the system can see which pieces of equipment are available for relocation. One customer was able to save more than $1 million within a year by reducing the amount of additional machinery it hired. In many cases, the equipment it needed was parked up on other job sites throughout the state. There are many instances where contractors hire in extra equipment because they’re unaware they have idle machines on other sites. This effectively doubles the cost of operation because you have machines doing nothing and then pay for extra capacity.

Every construction contractor knows time is money. If you have restricted hours of operation on a project and it has to be completed within a six-month timeframe, there’s nowhere for you to pick up time if machines are consistently starting late. If you’re in a residential area with noise restrictions that say machines can’t be operated before 7am, you don’t want them lying idle until 7:30am. The same restrictions might mean they have to be finished by 5pm but you don’t want everybody downing tools at 4:30pm. You have a minimum number of hours you need to get through in a day so losing half an hour here and there soon adds up and project deadlines get blown out. From an environmental management perspective you can set up curfew alerts to let you know if a machine has been started early or finished late. If you get a complaint you can cross check whether it was one of your machines.

PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCEYou need to follow manufacturer recommendations, which are usually provided as preventative maintenance schedules and can vary from one supplier to another. Let’s say a new machine needs to be serviced after 100 hours, then again at 250 hours and every 250 hours thereafter. Using telematics software you can set up alerts so that a plant manager gets a three-day warning when a piece of machinery is due for maintenance. If this isn’t actioned within 24 hours an email reminder is sent to this person’s boss. This brings continuity and accountability to maintenance scheduling but also means you can prove maintenance was done within a reasonable timeframe if there’s an incident or a warranty issue arises. You can configure this for hours of operation or calendar dates. So a machine might not have done 250 hours but you might still want to have it checked out if it’s been used infrequently for the past three months.

From a field service perspective people need to be able to track the whereabouts of vehicles and machines so they can go out and do maintenance. Engineers need to know what’s wrong with the machine, which can be generated using manufacturer fault codes. Armed with this information they can make sure they have the right parts when they arrive. These fault codes are often organised into three categories of importance:

• Low - Be aware of it and get it addressed at the next service. Example – A partially blocked air filter.

• Medium - You can continue to work but operation may be restricted. Example – The engine is overheating.

• High - In this instance a machine has to be shut down immediately to avoid serious damage. Example – Low oil pressure.

GREATER ACCURACYCycle times are an important measure of production on a job site. How much does it cost to move a cubic meter of earth over a specific distance? If those cycle times are too long you might be using the wrong machines. If trucks are parked up for a long time you either have too many in the cycle or need another excavator to speed up loading times. Telematics provides rapid access to valuable information that improves operational efficiency. Armed with accurate information about cycle times and the load being carried, the real cost of moving materials can be calculated. This improves bidding accuracy and will help you win more business.

Access to more accurate, real-time data helps control costs and frees up skilled resources to be more productive. Pulling this data directly from a vehicle or piece of machinery also eliminates the risk of human error associated with somebody phoning in to supply readings or writing them down on paper. It’s all too easy for somebody to accidentally transpose a couple of digits at the end of a long shift, or mishear numbers being relayed from a noisy job site.

ASSET VISIBILITYWith a large and diverse fleet of vehicles working across multiple sites, and an even broader mix of plant and machinery, there’s great value in knowing where everything is at any given time. The integrity of location data becomes critically important if, for example, a problem is reported on one of your 16 metric ton excavators. What if a field engineer spends two hours driving to a job site only to discover the machine has been moved to another location? The lost productivity associated with people travelling to and from a machine – whether that’s to move it, carry out repairs or do preventative maintenance – is potentially costly but completely avoidable.

Asset visibility also means you can see how fast vehicles are being driven around a job site, which vehicles have been going over the agreed maximum speed and who was driving at the time. You can send driver notifications and may even decide to remove repeat offenders from the site. Then there’s improper use. Location tracking means you’ll know if somebody was operating one of your mini excavators in their backyard on a Sunday morning. Integrated sensors on some telematics devices trigger theft alerts if an opportunistic thief pulls plant onto a truck and drives away. Internal batteries power the telematics unit even if the machine is isolated. Many contractors have had equipment stolen at some stage but now you can track it down and recover it.

HOW WE CAN HELPIn a tough market, greater operational efficiency can be the difference between winning and losing a contract. For those you win, it plays an important role in determining just how profitable the job is. If you’re operating a mixed fleet, Qtanium Connect from Teletrac Navman provides complete control and visibility through a single interface – all makes, all models and all years in one easy to manage application.

KEY BENEFITS INCLUDE:

▫ Location monitoring▫ Jobsite & equipment management▫ Fuel dashboard & management▫ Fault code alerts▫ Real-time weather details by jobsite▫ Track & monitor equipment from any manufacturer▫ Engine data reports▫ Integration into enterprise software

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For more information about Teletrac Navman, visit teletracnavman.co.nz